I. Introduction

This essay briefly discusses the transition between the Baroque and Classical forms, as well as some of the surrounding and characteristics. For the reader's convenience and further reading, references may be hyperlinked (blue, underlined) to Wikipedia or other web based sources for further study, while the audiovisual aids are mostly from YouTube/Google. 
 

Musical history over the last 1600 years may be roughly divided into nine sections (click for more information):
 

In this essay we'll take a brief look at the fascinating musical period between 1700 and 1800, where two important periods overlap: the Baroque and the Classical.

II. Cultural influences on the Baroque and Classical periods

Reason.  Rational thought, as practiced in Mesopotamia, India, China, Greece and Egypt was apparently often actively suppressed, especially during the dark ages in the West (~400AD-1500AD), when it suffered from relentless religious persecution. A combination of many factors contributed to a new awakening, a new re-birth, a Re-naissance, which started in Italy around 1500. Galileo and Kepler stand out as proponents of the idea that man could understand the world around him by observing phenomena, and then constructing model describing those phenomena, by using mathematics as a descriptor. The model is then validated by repeatable experiment, and... behold the cornerstone of modern science. Using physical models, as an example we no longer have to measure the time it takes for a stone to reach the ground when dropped from the top of  the tower of Pisa. The model, like the crystal ball of the ancients, will predict the future for us and tell me how much time it will take. to reach the ground. The model reflects a satisfactory reality when Galileo dropped the stone 600 years ago, as well as today. The model is a completely abstract and rational mental operation. That is an example of belief in the power of rational thought, which nowadays seems obvious and commonplace, but in 1600 perhaps not quite so.

Lag time.  It apparently takes quite a long time for new concepts to comfortably settle in the collective, cultural subconscious. Newton had invented the infinite calculus and published his Principia Mathematica by the time Bach and Handel were two years old! But I believe it took a generation for the powerful ideas about rationale and logic to sink in, and that the subsequent rejection of the Baroque and the birth of the Classical musical period could be seen as a cultural byproduct of this so-called "Age of Enlightenment", as the latter gains widespread acceptance, pushing previously held beliefs out of the way and heralding cultural change. where "Enlightenment" in this sense means that our existence is to be explained in a rational and logical manner.  Although the Musical Classical period is of course long gone, we are still witnessing what well may be the dying phase of that Age of Enlightenment, since we've become aware through experience, philosophy and science that rational thought is not the answer, but merely seems to be one dimension of an answer. Therefore the next Age may well be for example the "Age of Awareness", driving major changes in the Arts before it.

Micro vs. Macro. Hence a Baroque composer may subconsciously have thought of himself more as a vessel, as a medium or a vehicle i.e. the Potter and the Pot scenario, somewhat of a macro-cosmic perception.  The Classical composer might place more importance on mankind, himself and his work, i.e. a more anthropocentric, ego-centric or opus-centric attitude, i.e. a micro-cosmic view. I hasten to add that this observation merely points out possible tendencies and not absolutes. Because the arch-baroque Handel is apparently worldly and practical - in contrast with Bach - and was often reported to be obsessed with success, rivalries and mundane financial affairs. The themes of the librettos he uses (though not the oratorios) deal mostly with relationships, power and politics. Or the librettos live in the mythical, and not the spiritual realm. Great fanfare over an angry Zeus or a jealous Juno and so forth. Yet his music often seems to supersede the script and human melodrama, touching on the real drama of existence and so transcending into the metaphysical anyway simply due to the sheer weight and brilliance of his musical mind. The mundane and worldly of his psyche also shows in the fact that Handel would recycle whole parts while making slight changes, in the interest of rapid productivity. 

Art as a manifestation of world events. To better appreciate a work of art, it is a good thing to have some understanding of the main cultural and sociological forces at the time the work was created, i.e. to better understand the Beatles, it helps to know there was a war in Vietnam, a Cold War, a Space Race, a struggle for Civil and Women's rights, the widespread use of marijuana and so on. Hence this author found it helpful to create a chronological chart of a few important social, artistic and scientific events surrounding those periods.

Transition periods are colored gray and the Baroque-Classical transition in dark gray. Philosophers are not listed by birth year, but rather by a year in the middle of their productive years, and include mathematicians, natural philosophers (i.e. physicists) and some theologians (i.e. meta-physicists).

Periods are not precise but not arbitrary either, because they are characterized by somewhat stable and recognizable content, style and form. Changes in musical perception on the one side, and style, form and motifs on the other are likely caused by a sum of economic, religious, sociological and political factors and give rise to transitional states, where both forms coexist for some time. It is interesting to examine the music created within the hazy boundaries between the periods. The forces which drive the changes in music should also manifest in other cultural changes such as painting, literature, sculpture, poetry as well as in new religious, social, scientific and political currents and events.

Synchronicity? Interestingly enough, it does not appear that the changes in the different arts are necessarily synchronous, and that the seven arts may well possess distinct delayed reaction times to the forces of change. In other words, a change in the visual Arts caused by the culture of the time may manifest 10, 20 even 30 years before the same change becomes apparent in other Arts or vice versa, a discussion of which goes well beyond the scope of this essay.

III. Characteristics of the Baroque and Classical Forms

Although musical periods don't really move along sharply defined boundaries, we can nevertheless safely assume that the musical movement known as 'Baroque' acquired a recognizable identity in form and musical intention somewhere between the time of G.Gabrieli (b. 1554) and C.Monteverdi (b.1567), and had been in existence well over a century before Vivaldi, Telemann, Bach, Handel and Scarlatti (jr.) appeared on the world stage. As we will see later, the Baroque form was no longer in vogue by 1761, at the time Mozart wrote his first sonatas.  And in turn the Classical Period had given way to the Romantic Period before Beethoven's death in 1827, at least judging by the style of the defining works from that time.

Baroque: One characteristic physical aspect of the Baroque lies in the widespread usage of popular dances of the time like the Sarabande, Bourree, Gavotte, Minuet and Passepied as basic rhythmic motifs. Another characteristic is the polyphonic approach (i.e. where multiple melodic lines  harmoniously coexist within a common structure). Part of the harmony is implicitly generated by the interplay of the intertwined polyphony. The basic form is usually some type of three part (ABA), although the binary form (AB, where B often modulates to the dominant) is also used.

Instrumentation:

Gavotte	Minuet	Passepied
Fig. 2  popular dances in the Baroque

Classical: In contrast to polyphony, music from the Classical period tends to use a single melodic line, giving more importance to the harmonic content of the background. The Classical period also tends to have a different technical form, neither ABA nor AB. The structure usually consists of two contrasting themes, followed by two repeated variations ('expositions'), whereby the first original theme is at last recognized and reworked in a second variation (called recapitulation or 'reprise') which in turn is followed by the 'coda', or tail end, so in a sense imitating the natural chronology of a human life.

Instrumentation:

IV. Influential Composers of the period

Some of the most important personalities which helped to shape these two important musical eras are listed below, chronologically ordered by date of birth.  In order to highlight the period of change (somewhat arbitrarily taken as 1745-1775) , I chose to tag those composers in whom both Baroque and Classical influences are apparent as 'Transitional'.  I also tried to provide more insight by researching the dates of their first and last known works, thereby  highlighting their productive years. In a subsequent essay, we'll discuss the connection between some of their works and world events from the same time and geographical areas.
 

Another way of looking at the impact these composers had on their time is to sort the above data by the date of their first work. The view changes somewhat. It is interesting to see that Johann Sebastian, born seven years after Vivaldi, starts composing five years before Vivaldi. The importance of this observation lies in the fact that older artists tend to influence younger artists.  But this natural phenomenon may be distorted if the younger artist starts producing before the older artist, thereby giving a bit more insight into the environment in which the work was created.
 

V. The Hall of Fame

Baroque: One finds it difficult to choose between so many great Baroque composers, but certainly Handel and J.S. Bach should be on the short list without causing much controversy.  Handel and Bach Sr. were born in 1685 just 23 days and less than 60 miles apart! Between the two of them they would arguably produce the greatest Baroque works, if not the greatest European music of all time.

A possible third choice would be Domenico Scarlatti, son of noted composer Alessandro Scarlatti and born six months later that same year. In this author's opinion Scarlatti is not in the same league as these two masters in terms of artistic breadth, depth and enduring impact and influence. This comes as no surprise since few composers, if any, are. Scarlatti worked most of his life in a court setting, and is best known for his 22 'exercises' and over 500 Harpsichord sonatas and seems more of a creative virtuoso instrumentalist than a true composer and arranger. The reason to include Mr. Scarlatti Jr. in the Hall of fame instead of for example Vivaldi or Telemann is that he, more so than most, contributes great elegance, lightness, endless inventivity and effortless virtuosity. Even though he prefers to use a simple two part ('binary') division for musical contrast instead of the classical form beckoning ahead, one can sense an independence of mind and a tendency to look forwards, so that at times his sonatas can sound classical, albeit with baroque decorations. In view of the relative originality of his work, this author wonders where Scarlatti would have moved to musically without the natural boundaries his Royal sponsors likely demanded.

Classical: Haydn and Mozart  each made enormous contributions to their Art in somewhat different ways with Mozart as the student who surpassed the master, and Haydn as one of the main forces behind forming the concepts of what we now know as the Classical peiod. Beethoven can be considered Classical although with strong Romantic tendencies, and is undoubtedly a musical giant.

Three of the most influential Baroque composers.
G.F. Handel (b.1685)	J.S. Bach (b.1685)	D. Scarlatti (b.1685)
Fig. 4 Three of the most important personalities in Baroque Music

VI. Example of Baroque, Transitional and Classical Composers

Pure Baroque: Although his contributions were extraordinarily significant perhaps even transcendental, Handel wrote pure Baroque all his productive life. Johann Sebastian did so as well, although his later, evolved work such as parts of the 1647 'A Musical Offering'  offer a glimpse of an alternate, almost revolutionary direction his music could have taken instead of choosing the more evolutionary path we inherited. Who knows what music could have looked like today, if Johann Sebastian had lived ten years longer, and had placed more emphasis on self-promotion. Of course the contradiction lies in the fact that a true artist is not likely to be a self-promoter, since it is his integrity which is partly responsible for him being a great artist in the first place. And self-promotion is not exactly an integrity-boosting activity.
 

Transitional: Of Carl Philipp Bach, one can observe the influence of the period and of his famous father on his earlier music . A good example is his Concerto in D Minor from 1747, (when his father was 62 and would pass 3 years later). Part 1 is vintage Baroque with whole phrasings directly attributable to Johann Sebastian.

Next observe the surprising metamorphosis over the next 26 years which results in Carl Philipp's Symphony in G major, composed for the Baron van Swieten twentysix years later, in 1773. Here one  imagines catching fleeting images of Haydn, Mozart or even Beethoven (who was 3 at the time), but none of Johann Sebastian, who had passed 23 years prior!
 

Jam session: King Frederick the Great - Flute, C.P.E. Bach - Harpsichord, F.Benda - Violin

Fig. 5  A Royal Jam Session with C.P.E. Bach at the harpsichord

So it seems that as he matured, Carl Philipp turned further and further away, as many artistic youngsters tend to do, from his influential father and consequently from the Baroque, and starts out on the 'galant' road to the new Classical form.  From that point, one can trace Carl Philipp Bach's influence on Haydn, and subsequently Haydn's impact on Mozart.

Pure Classical: Mozart in turn acknowledges this by dedicating a number of his best string quartets to Haydn (No. 15-18 op 10, 1783). Mozart also owed musical influences to J.S. Bach's son Johann Christian. Of the older son Carl Philipp, Mozart writes: "He is the father, we are the children", and the motivation for writing his first symphonies starting at age 8 are attributable to the younger Bach son, Johann Christian. And so the musical debt owed to Johann Sebastian Bach, leading from himself through his sons C.P.E. Bach and J.C. Bach to Haydn and beyond is paid back in full and with dividends by the wonderful gifts Mozart  later bestowed on the world.
 

VII. Baroque and Classical in terms of physical and metaphysical implications

Musical periods or movements, much like in the visual arts, manifest the culture of the times. That culture partly means the current and/or latent world perception or vision. Music, like any of the Arts, can serve as a bridge or portal between the physical, emotional and metaphysical realities, altering the mood and/or consciousness level of the observer. Therefore the mood and/or consciousness of the musical listener will tend to be altered in the same general direction as manifested by the culture of the time in question. 

To this author, the most important way to look at the Arts, is in terms of consciousness modifiers. That is to say, that by looking at a certain painting, by reading certain literature or by listening to certain music, we modify our consciousness, we modify our perception of the world around us.

If the culture of the period tends towards spirituality and meditation, then (allowing for the differences between composers) one effect of listening to the music of that period will probably be to place the listener in a spiritual, devotional or meditative mood; if a particular culture of a period is inward looking and focuses more on human pleasure and suffering, then the effect will be more towards the humanistic and romantic, and so on.

In this author's opinion, the Baroque seems infused with a sense of worship and gratitude, a sense of being children of the Infinite, the relationship of humanity with God, an upward look and empathy with the Creator.  Using the earlier analogy, listening to this Art can invoke a clearer connection with the spiritual world beyond physical boundaries, hence meta-physical. Very similar to other methods such as prayer and meditation all of which serve to lightly increase our awareness of reality beyond the physical, beyond the illusion.

Again in this author's opinion, the Classical era could perhaps be better interpreted as expressing human needs, desires and suffering, i.e. an inward look, empathy with humanity and the folly of material life itself. This could be partially explained by the fact that religion played a more central role in Baroque daily life than during the Classical period.

The pictures below can hopefully demonstrate these ideas.  

The Physical and...	the Meta-Physical
Fig 6. Intimations of the boundaries between physics and metaphysics.
Notice the uncanny parallel between the "real" photograph on the left and De Chirico's "surreal" painting on the right. De Chirico was the founder of Metaphysical Painting in Italy, ~1914 Methods such as a certain type of meditation, prayer, music or other art, may serve as a catalyst to change the state of consciousness as do certain psychotropic chemicals.

Another way of analyzing this is to say that the spiritual (not necessarily religious) perception --central to Baroque and medieval life-- of living within a majestic, terrifying and incomprehensible creation, and the continual habit of introspective prayer may well lead to a different attitude towards the Arts, since spiritual awareness may unveil that one is in reality merely a tiny part of the infinite, which then manifests in music as Man communicating with the Sacred, with the macro cosmos, with the meta-physical, whereas the Classical period. seems in my mind to deal more with Individual Man and his earthly condition, feelings and emotions, with the physical micro cosmos back on earth.
 

In ending this essay, I trust that the stellar list of performances below should entertain as well as enable the listener to discern the unmistakable drums of change, the almost tectonic wrenching of a new culture over the old, a changing of the guard as it were. The musical excerpts are taken from the 1740-1775 transition period starting with pure High Baroque, and ending with pure Classical.  A trove of musical treasure, belonging to all humankind.

VIII. Conclusion

Listen to the Transition! Hopefully the listener will hear the metamorphosis from Baroque into Classical by listening to these chronological selections in sequence. Please click on the hyperlink to listen.

Baroque 1745  Handel Semele II Act II The work was first performed on 10 February 1744 at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden, London. The audience for the concert series, held yearly during Lent at London's Theatre Royal, Covent Garden expected Bible-based subject matter. Most oratorios, including most of those by Handel, would have met this expectation. But the amorous topic of Semele, which is practically a creation of the late Restoration Period, transparently drew on Greek myths, not Hebrew laws. It displeased those who attended the Lenten seasons for a different kind of uplift, and, being in English, likewise irritated the supporters of true Italian opera. As Winton Dean suggested in his book Handel’s Dramatic Oratorios:

"The public [in 1744] found [Semele's] tone too close to that of the discredited Italian opera and set it down as an oratorio manqué; where they expected wholesome Lenten bread, they received a glittering stone dug from the ruins of Greek mythology."

As a result, only four performances took place. The cast on February 10, 1744, included Elisabeth Duparc (‘La Francesina’) in the title role, Esther Young as Juno (and Ino), and John Beard as Jupiter. Henry Reinhold sang the bass roles. Handel seems to have interchanged some of the music between singers. Pandering to his critics, Handel did rustle up two further performances, in December 1744, at the King’s Theatre, London. Changes and additions were made, including interspersed arias in Italian (for the opera crowd) and the excision of sexually explicit lines (for the devoted). Then Semele, perhaps unsurely matched to the spirit of its time, fell into long neglect. (WP)

Baroque 1747  Johann Sebastian Bach Fugue in 6 Voices At 62, Bach wrote 'A Musical Offering'. A wonderfully mature, tempered work, where the master draws on half a century of experience and produces something both simple and complex, actually evolving a statement through a canon. No wonder that music is sometimes referred to as 'the language of angels'. Just imagine a conversation between six people, often speaking at the same time, with similar but distinct messages. Instead of the cacophony which would result in a similar  human conversation , the Fugue in 6 voices produces a coherent and powerful mood and consciousness altering message by harmoniously summing all voices. In this piece one cannot detect any Classical tendencies at all, but perhaps because of the sometimes improbable harmonies generated by as many as six leaders and followers in the canon parts, at times Bach seems to jump 200 years ahead of his time with eerie 20th century harmonic intimations of Schoenberg and Berg,  and takes the baroque to the very limit of the form, in that space where craft has been completely sublimated and art is born. Listening carefully to this masterpiece of simplicity and complexity one can imagine that music could have continued straight up on this very viable path of evolution instead of what I think of as downwards towards the new 'galant' style and classicism. It is not hard to believe that the sons simply could not deal with the great complexity needed and knowledge required to continue on the upward spiral the fathers had left them, as someone wrote 'an impossible act to follow...'. It was far easier to break it off and start a simpler art instead of standing on the shoulders of the fathers. In this author's opinion, perhaps the start of musical decadence.
 

Baroque 1749  Handel Theodora several arias

This oratorio, which was also performed as an opera, was one of Handel's worst commercial failures, much like Semele (1745). It was performed only two or three times. Yet this was one of Handel's own favorites. The libretto text was perhaps too forceful for the times, as it dealt with religious persecution a very Handel-like, courageous artistic expression. Rhythmically very bold at times - Some of the rhythms of modern rock as well as what would become the rumba and rumba-blues can be clearly heard, 250 years ahead of it's time. Modern costumes are used for the specific performance of this video. Although Richard Croft is certainly a great singer and the whole performance exemplary, the German accent, shotgun type weapon and the tendency to almost yodel can leave you with the unfortunate impression of the Terminator Schwarzenegger singing Handel.
 

Baroque 1749  Johann Sebastian Bach Art of the Fugue- Contrapunctus #4 One year before his death, Johann Sebastian wrote the masterful 'Art of the Fugue'. Consisting of counterpoints and canons. This fine example surely counts as belonging to the Himalayas of the baroque era. I chose to include this older recording of less than ideal audio quality because of Glenn Gould's impeccable performance. The unconventional Canadian master would change the sound of the piano by placing metal over the hammers to suit the composition to his taste.

Also included #1 in this series, transcribed for string quartet and for two harpsichords 

Transitional 1748  Carl Philipp Bach - Concerto in D Minor  notice the 'baroqueness' of this concerto, for example compare the similarity of structure and phrasing to an example of his father's work 28 years prior:  1720 JS Bach Concerto for two Violins in D Minor.

Transitional 1749  Carl Philipp Bach - Magnificat A very interesting comparison between son and father, since both used wrote the Magnificat (12 sections of music based on the ten Gospel books)

I have included the unforgettable section #2 (Exsultavit)  from Johann Sebastian's Magnificat. Carl Phillip wrote very very well, but J.S. is olympian. JS Bach Magnificat - Exsultavit

Classical ,1761, some baroque remnants  Johann Christian Bach Catone in Utica, opera This was JC Bach's most successful opera. The same theme had been exposed since roman times, and later interpretations were also popular such as the one by Piccini. Notice the opening bars, strongly reminiscent of the Baroque, sounding a bit like a coarsened Pachebel. After the opening bars, a very classical response. 

Classical 1764 Baroque R.I.P -   Mozart Symphony No 4 in D major, K19 I thought it interesting to include one of Mozart earlier works, because at the early age of 8 he would probably be a good reflector of the culture surrounding him since his own personality could not yet have been fully developed. What comes across is strong classical influence from Haydn and Johann Christian Bach mixed in with a dash of Vienna, and no Baroque at all. We have now formally witnessed the death of the great Baroque movement. A titanic sustained musical and cultural effort of  almost two hundred years the world had never seen and would not see again, culminating in the refined, powerful yet merciful works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Handel. Western Music owes a debt to this era like no other.

Classical 1773  Mozart Symphony No 26 in Eb major, K184 Even though the original of Mozart's manuscript has not survived, the set of parts written in the hand of his father, Leopold Mozart, is preserved in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich.^[1] It is known today that the early symphonies by young Mozart were performed at the public concerts in the Little Haymarket Theatre in London. It is therefore possible that these parts were written for one of these public performances. (WP) 
 

Classical 1775  Johan Christian Bach - Lucio Silla

The story concerns the Roman dictator Lucio Silla (Lucius Sulla) who lusts after Giunia, the daughter of his enemy Caius Marius. Giunia, on the other hand, loves the exiled senator Cecilio.

 

 

Composer's Matrix
As a convenience to the listener, three works from each important composer of the period are listed: music from their earlier stages, mid-life and later stage. In this way the listener can witness the transformation taking place from a big picture perspective, by moving vertically down the columns of the 'Earlier', 'Mid-Life' or 'Later'  selections. Or, one can also follow the maturing process of each composer by moving horizontally across the 'Earlier', 'Mid-Life' and 'Later'  columns. In some cases insufficient information is available (as in the case of D. Scarlatti), and I was forced to use my own judgment to date the piece, in which case an asterisk is placed before the name.

You can click on any of the works listed in the table below, and a corresponding video will be played on YouTube. Make sure you have your speakers on, and enjoy the privilege of modern technology, of being able to easily witness musical metamorphosis. The actual range of the selections spans about 140 years,  from 1694 (Abinoni's Opus 1) through 1836 (Cherubini's Requiem, which incidentally he wrote for himself). 

 

In future writings, this matrix will be referenced and expanded to contain more life events (i.e. Childhood, Adolescence, Adulthood, Middle Age, Late Middle Age, Old Age), as well as other periods besides baroque and classical.

 

Composer's Matrix ~1700-1800				intersilo 2010
Composer	Productivity		Period	three works in a composer's life  (click to listen)
	Start	End		Earlier	Mid-Life	Later
T.Albinoni	1694	1741	Baroque	1694 Opus 1, Sonata	1715, Opus 7, conc. oboe	1735 Opus 10, a cinque
J.S.Bach	1700	1750	Baroque	1709 Fugue in B minor	1735 three keyboards	1749 musical offering
D. Scarlatti	1703	1751	Baroque	1710 Ti ricorda, Irene	*Sonata in E, in G	*Sonata in A
G.F.Handel	1705	1752	Baroque	1709, Rodrigo Opera	1724 Tamerlane Opera	1750 Theodora, arias
A.Vivaldi	1705	1740	Baroque	1709 Opus 2 B minor	1725  Summer	1740 Opus 14  Siciliano
G.P. Telemann	1708	1759	Baroque	1712 Suite in D Minor	1725 Pimpinone, comedy	1744 Matthew Passion
C.P.E.Bach	1731	1788	Transitional	1731 Sonata	1748 Magnificat	1787 Resurrection
N.Jomelli	1737	1771	Transitional	*	1764 Demoofont	*
C.W.Gluck	1741	1780	Transitional	1743 Demoofonte	1762 Orfeo & Euridice	1779 Iphigenie & Tauride
J.Haydn	1755	1803	Classical	1759 Symphony No1	1776 Symphony No 60	1795 Symphony No 104
W.A.Mozart	1761	1791	Classical	1763 Sonata KV7	1777 Concerto KV271	1791 Zauberflote
J.C.Bach	1761	1779	Classical	1765 Adriano in Siria	1772 Temistocle	1779 Amadis de Gaulle
L.Boccherini	1765	1801	Classical	*Minuet	1786 La Clementina	1801 Stabat Mater
M.Clementi	1773	1832	Classical	1780 Sonata 3	1802 Sonatina op40	*opus 50
L.Cherubini	1778	1837	Classical	1797 Medea	1815 Symphony D Major	1836 Requiem
Beethoven	1780	1826	*Romantic	1786 Piano trio No.9	1800 Symphony Mo 1	1817 Symphony No 9
Fig. 7   Composers 1700-1800 with references to three chronologically ordered musical works of each composer.        f.vanSplunteren/intersilo 2010

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 Opinions and mistakes are the author's responsibility. Some information was gathered via WikiPedia. and was annotated with a 'WP' at the end-of -paragraph.